January 4, 2016 NCRA.org
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, broadcast and CART captioners, and legal videographers, has designated Feb. 14-20 as the 2016 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week. The week-long event is designed to celebrate the court reporting and captioning professions and to help raise public awareness about the growing number of employment opportunities the career offers.
Court reporters, captioners, CART providers, state court reporter associations, and court reporting schools around the country will participate in the week-long event by hosting an array of activities such as visits to high schools to showcase the profession, open houses, Veterans History Project interviews, media outreach, and more. To help celebrate the week, NCRA has made available a vast collection of resources including informational and marketing materials developed for its Take Note campaign that was launched in response to an industry-wide outlook report that determined a need existed to fill jobs in the field. – Annemarie Roketenetz
To continue the article:
http://www.ncra.org/News/newsdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=16324
There comes a time when a law office grows to such a point that it must consider if it should hire a paralegal. Many in the industry today still aren’t even sure just what a paralegal is or can do. Here are some things to consider for the serious possibility of employing this kind of legal staff for your organization.
Paralegals can certainly make a real difference, and many of the larger law firms extensively use them to perform the basics of legal legwork. These days many smaller firms (and even those farther from a law-hub metropolis) are beginning to appreciate and utilize the added edge a paralegal professional can offer. Paralegals can improve a legal organization’s efficiency simply because they can be responsible for many of the same tasks that the lawyers perform regularly (at much lower rates), freeing them up for more important functions. By reducing the costs of services and increasing attorney productivity, law offices can attract more clients!
More than just covering the basics, they can perform dutifully much of the substantive legal work of which a lawyer is in charge. Complex legal research and writing, motions and appellate briefs, interviewing clients and witnesses, and even assisting at closings and trials -are all possible duties. Possessing substantial knowledge of the law and legal skills, as they are trained just like law students, they can therefore be delegated most tasks normally performed by a qualified attorney. These days, some paralegals are even becoming trained as mediators!
Although a paralegal may have been educated in the law like an attorney, they are not actually licensed as lawyers are, nor are they subject to regulatory parameters that attorneys must adhere to in their profession. As they continue to shoulder more and more responsibilities in the legal industry, their credentials and proof of qualifications become more prominent and scrutinized. For example, the Special Committee on Paralegals was recently created by the Maryland State Bar Association, and among its goals, it has set out to review the status of state regulatory programs for paralegals throughout the nation to determine if a system of monitoring and direction is needed.
Many professional associations of the legal industry, such as the NFPA and NALA, now offer paralegal certification (such as Registered Paralegal, Certified Legal Assistant or Certified Paralegal) after completing course requirements and competency exams. Today, more educational institutions are also seeking the American Bar Association’s approval for paralegal programs. Thus, more and more attorneys are seeking paralegals not only holding degrees, but those that are trained in the stringent curriculums approved by the ABA.
Oh, the agony of being perfect in a less than perfect world. Court Reporters must produce a product that’s, well, perfect. Names spelled correctly, punctuation in agreement with the MLA Stylebook or
The Elements of Style make the difference between a transcribed account and an excellent work product worthy of being a legal transcript. Attention to detail breeds a perfectionist. Philosophical, scientific and spiritual concepts all agree that perfection is not achievable by human beings, and there’s lots of reasons as to why we should avoid the pursuit and accompanying strife. When society’s so forgiving of a few mistakes…why can’t a reporter have the same absolution as the rest of the world? Simply, it’s what you signed up for.
If you’ve noticed, there’s a prevailing acceptance of mistakes. Seems like our society accepts mediocre results with a shrug and “guess we’ll have to live with it” attitude. Things like a misspelled name on your insurance ID, wrong address on pizza delivery or failure to post your payment are commonalities rather than exceptions. The court reporter cannot backslide along with other businesses.
For our court reporting colleagues, we’ve identified 10 tips, quotes and suggestions to help you create a perfect record, and maybe develop patience for those who aren’t required to produce perfection.
Grasping Perfection: 10 ideas on how, when and why to strive for perfection.
LAST LOOKS from One American Square, #1650
Here’s a pretty view from our 16th Floor office. The brightly dyed canal ushers in St. Patrick’s Day and the coming of spring. Finally!
In just six more weeks, we’ll say goodbye to One American Square. It’s been our home for the last 30 years. We’ve watched the city change along with the seasons. When we opened the office at One America (AUL Tower), the corporate name was John E. Connor & Associates, Inc. When Jim Connor and Craig Williams bought the business from Jim’s dad, it became Connor & Associates.
In 2006, we changed our operational name. The more defined and specific, Connor Reporting, says who we are and what we do. The Connor brand means outstanding court reporting, fast service backed by a 50-plus-year history of “setting the record straight.”
May 1st, the new chapter begins as we open our doors in the Chase Tower on Monument Circle (Indianapolis). From our new home on the 43rd floor, you’ll be able to experience great court reporting while witnessing the quintessential view of Indianapolis.
#courtreporting; #familybusiness; #chasetower
Connor Reporting is proud to announce the business is now a GenGreen Certified Business. Connor Reporting, a certified court reporting agency in operation since 1962, has a long history of providing a unique combination of experience, technology and service to deliver professional court reporting, videography, document management, and trial presentation services. All of us at Connor Reporting understand our business practices have a direct impact on our environment, which is why we feel it is so important to continually employ environmentally friendly business practices.
In our continuing effort to remain at the forefront of technology while practicing respect for the environment, we pledge to adhere to the following green initiatives:
